Insurance, our medications and my therapy come to another 8%. It looks like medication will almost certainly go up soon, so that could be 11% or more. 40.9% to 46.8%

Car insurance and gas are another 2%. 42.9% to 48.8%

Our fun money adds another 3.2%. 46.1% to 52%

Massages would normally be considered a luxury. But one every two weeks keeps Tim (mostly) mobile. And one a month for me because I have my own back problems. Thanks to an amazing rate, we pay $165 for three massages and tips. Which is another 2.1%. 48.2% to 54.1%

I should point out that I’m basing all these numbers on my new income. (The overtime I took will give me almost a full week’s pay each month.)

Last year, the percentages would have been 52.7% to 59.4%.

And none of this includes toiletries, food, clothes/shoes, haircuts, car repairs, home repairs and other incidentals. Food is a huge budget-suck, as I’ve talked about in the past.

At any rate, despite $17,000 of major expenses this past year, we put away more than 20% of our income (including retirement contributions).

Before anyone says anything, I know that still leaves a pretty big gap unaccounted for.

But there’s still the day-to-day expenses. Plus health problems (including multiple $40 OB/GYN visits and the ER visits for miscarriages) and a late 1960s house mean that unexpected expenses crop up pretty constantly.

At least our savings percentage will go up even more this year thanks to our $10,600 goal.

Living off half your income can be done by most people, but its something you really have to want to do. In today society people don’t want to ever feel uncomfortable or work extra to maintain the lifestyle they are accustomed too. Sacrifice and more sacrifice is the key.Petrish @ Debt Free Martini recently posted…Women’s Bad Relationship with Money

You’re very diplomatic, Abby. I was going to say “hog wash”. 🙂 We live in a HCOL area where my DH works for the county. He’ll have a decent pension in another 12 years. Meaning we’d be fools not to stay put until then. Our sons live at home and work part time while going to college (they won’t have student loan debts). Gasoline is at least $1.00 more per gallon in our area than most of the rest of the US. Our sons take public transportation to and from college. DS2 walks to his job. DH carpools, and has for several years. I can make a tank of gas last 2 months + I’ve got an informal food co-op with some neighbors. Our rent hasn’t been raised in 13 yrs. If we were in a LCOL area/state *and* had the same income, we could probably save 1/2, provided we did everything else as we do now. But here? Nope. Not a snowball’s chance.

Yeah, it can be hard to remember that cost of living can vary so widely.

We were able to get an 800 sq ft two bedroom apartment down here for $700. That included electric, w/s/g and pet rent. In Seattle, we paid $700 for a 600 sq ft one bedroom apartment with a beat-up carpet and older appliances. That included w/s/g but not electricity.

Aunt Leesie, we are in the same boat. Additionally, DH doesn’t get paid if he doesn’t work! So we aren’t saving the way we would like to… but we have not dipped into our savings, either. So I guess that’s a form of saving, isn’t it? Sometimes I feel like I’ve wrung every possible cent out of our budget, and other times I feel like there is so much more I can do… it’s frustrating, sometimes I feel like I can’t win.

I don’t want to feel uncomfortable? You little bloody moron, does it occur to you that a lot of bankruptsy cases involve medical bills? Does it occur to you this isn’t about feeling uncomfortable, but actually having the desire to live? Oh, but that wouldn’t fit into your nice little sanctimonious world view. You talk about sacrifice. From the way you proclaim from the mount on this subject, it’s fairly clear you never have. Sacrifice is about giving up something incredibly important. It’s about being willing to go without to see something better. You’re feeding your own greed and ego.

It’s well and good to try and talk about how that choice can work for some people, but it’s better to actually consider what sort of circumstances make it hard for people to save significantly. One particularly nasty problem people can run into is the fact that being fiscally motivated can cause problems with disability benefits. The way that money is used can come under review, and that money is there intended for immediate living expenses. Did you think of that, little martyr? That money coming into a lower income household may need to be spent for fear of losing it? No? Didn’t know that? Golly gosh, Batman, a clue! Maybe you don’t know what circumstances everyone you decree to be irresponsible have to deal with.

I’m sorry, I have an allergic response to stupidity. It makes me break out in sarcasm.

Wow, I really don’t think name calling is necessary. In Petrish’s defense, he/she said MOST people, not ALL. There will always be valid exceptions and it would be nearly impossible to capture every unique circumstance/exclusion. I think there is some validity to the point that some people would shrink at the sacrifice necessary to save a larger percentage of their income (again, unique circumstances aside). And that is normal – it can be hard to give things up that one has become accustomed to, especially for an exercise in frugality.

How about when your income is now 1/4 of what it used to be? Trust me, it’s impossible to save half our income. The only reason we’ve been able to make it on such reduced income is that I *did* save a lot when our income was higher , and for many years. Not half, but we didn’t live exorbitantly either. I don’t think living on half one’s income is realistic for most people, and not because they are spending unwisely.

Have you ever read “The Prudent Homsmaker’s” blog? She is amazing. Her husband went without income for a long time (a year I think) and she was able to feed a family of nine (and homeschool seven children) on an almost non-existient budget. Her blog is very inspiring and I am in awe of how much that woman gets done in a day!

I have read her, and she is really able to stretch a very small budget very far! She is really creative with things like children’s birthdays and holidays and spends very little on these (she has 7 children!). One advantage she had is that they are LDS and had one year of supplies on hand when they had no income for many months. Another is that she lives in the Las Vegas area and is able to grow a lot of her family’s food with such a long growing season. Not really possible where I live and it’s 16 degrees out and tomatoes can’t safely go in the ground until Memorial Day.

I don’t mean to sound so grouchy, but for 2014, we are at 25% of our income for 2012….I got laid off and have not been able to replace my income while my husband finished school. He’s done now, and is working some. 2015 is looking better, but I am not betting that we will be able to save 50% of our income this year either. Sometimes it is not just a matter of skipping the lattes or cable, both of which get old after a while.

The most important lesson my mother ever taught me was to be able to survive on one income in a worst case scenario. So in other words, never purchase anything e.g. a house or car unless you can afford to pay for it on a single income.Barry @ Moneywehave recently posted…A Travel Hacker Guide From KAYAK

Well that’s a good lesson. But there are plenty of people already living on just one income. Obviously, people who are single, but also couples where one person can’t get a job. My husband is on disability, meaning we’re more or less a one-income family.

Yeah the saving half your income argument only works if you make enough money. I’m looking to build up my income so I can save more of it rather than just cutting back more and more.Stefanie @ The Broke and Beautiful Life recently posted…Broke with Privilege

Playing devil’s advocate here, but I’ve seen several comments saying “oh, if I made more money or “x” amount of money it would be much easier.” And I’m sure back when you both were on disability with no jobs you would’ve thought that if you made the income you’d make now, that you’d be on easy street with no worries. But, now you’re making more money and you still don’t feel you’re on easy street. Of course, you chose to buy a home to accommodate your in-laws; I think it’d be easier on you if you still rented. Do you ever regret buying the house? Anyway, it’s kind of funny, because everyone thinks it would be easier if they made more, but then it still sometimes doesn’t feel like enough.

We also live in HCOL but keep cheap living with family. Past excuses have been all the therapies and special Drs, Sped programs etc. True but I admit now I wasted money too. Things are stable per say medically here so I am focused on saving. I only started family budgets last year and our first real savings in Nov, but this month all our savings vehicles will put us at 22%!!! Thank you, I hadn’t looked at it cuz so concerned on debt and budgeting but saving makes me feel less fearful for the future. We could cut more out but I am not the only one voting on the budget.

Personally I think you are doing great considering all your medical issues. Can you get a frequent patron discount at the massage place? When I had to get them last year for my fibromyalgia, the place gave discount for auto pay($58 vs $80!).Dawn recently posted…My Take on Obama’s Cost of Education Chat…

They already give us an amazing rate. When I started seeing the guy repeatedly after Groupon, I got the massage for $40. When my husband started getting massages from the guy’s wife, they knocked it down to $35 a month. We tip well given that they now charge about $80 an hour, so it adds to $165.

Congrats on boosting your savings up.

We definitely have places we could, theoretically, trim. But in the past, the struggle to do so proved unsuccessful and very disheartening. So I’m just letting go on those fronts.

You guys are doing awesome at saving 20%! Way to go! We are at 10% through a 403b but keep looking forward to the day we can fund our Roths. It just doesn’t make sense to do until debt is paid off though.Jayleen @ How Do The Jones Do It recently posted…No Soliciting Sign Free Printable

When we were making 36K/year living in a high COL area, 36K was worth more than it is now, but we still weren’t able to save half– literally half our income went to housing and utilities for a subsidized 1br! I was happy that we were able to pay off DH’s student loans that first year (10K) and were able to contribute the full amounts to our Roths the rest of the time (though the full amount was 3K back then) and have a decent emergency fund so we wouldn’t have to go into credit card debt if a reimbursement took a long time to reimburse.nicoleandmaggie recently posted…Recessed lighting and energy efficiency

I’m happy-ish with the amount I’m able to save. I can save 50% of my income without feeling the pinch. (Thankfully I went straight from putting every penny to debt to saving, so having 50% of my living expenses available now seems extravagant where it might have felt pretty lousy to go from living with 100% of my income to saving 50% of it.) Actual planned expenses only account for 32.7% of my income, so I could save significantly more than I do now. But… Meh. Gotta live a little.

This is a really great question, and an important thing for people to ponder. We definitely could not live on half our income unless we sold our house and drastically cut some of our bills (housing, gas, car payments, etc.). The student loans are the same regardless of whether we make $10k or $100k a year, so it’s the fixed costs that really make this difficult. I think trying to increase income is a better approach and one that I would recommend.DC @ Young Adult Money recently posted…How the Practice of “Delaying” Can Boost Your Finances

We’re fortunate enough that our housing isn’t that much more than what we’d pay in rent. (At least, since the in-laws’ rent covers most of the utilities.) Then again, there are repair bills to consider.

Fixed expenses will always be the downfall of trying to save more. I guess that’s why J. Money does the “Challenge Everything” project.

I guess it depends what you consider “saving”. Earlier I was reading about Gail Vaz-Oxlade’s belief that putting aside money for a vacation, car, home renovation, repairs, etc, is more accurately called “planned spending”. (Hooray for delayed gratification!) But “saving” is what you do for an education or retirement. I think an emergency fund falls under planned spending as well.

More power to people who can save 50% of their income by this definition, but I suspect of for some people that 50% includes at least some planned spending?

Well, the 20% I mentioned is also partially planned spending. We have a vacation fund, a car fund, etc. Technically, everything in our bank accounts are planned spending, though, because we have a huge medical bill at the end of the year. We’ve been saving toward that and various repairs for years now.

My financial situation took a huge [negative] turn when I got divorced. Factor in several unexpected dental, medical, & vehicle repair bills. I’m finally at a point where I’m seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. I moved in with my BF & have devised a plan to eliminate all CC, medical, & dental debt by the end of October this year.. about $7k in 7 months. Once that is out of the way I can focus on student loans & my auto loan. Debt is debt, but I especially hate that first chunk. I couldn’t put this plan in motion without the support of loved ones.

Not sure my comment tied into the post? lolTLC recently posted…Here & there

I just tried working this out on paper, due to an early retirement buyout offer. I would have needed to cash out my 401-k and 457 to add to the montly pension income (which would have been taxed at the federal level, and would also have had about $350 for medical expenses deducted from it) in order to continue to pay monthly expenses, until I could take SSA retirement at age 62. If there was any delay in any of the payments, or any unexpected medical or dental bills, I would have been sunk. And I received an unexpected dental estimate of several thousand, after insurance. I will continue to work for a little longer.

I’m somewhat happy with our savings rate but there’s always room for improvement. I’m not sure if we could live off half our income but it would be great to be in a position where we could, and paying down the mortgage even more would allow us to do thatDan @ Our Big Fat Wallet recently posted…Buying a Second Hand Engagement Ring

Read all the thoughts posted here and this, to me, sums it up best: I think what matters is finding a happy balance between what you want today and what you need down the road

And it is exactly how hubby and I have chosen to live moving forward.

For some it is important to put money away to spend in the future, aks “planned spending”. For others just getting by is a huge accomplishment month after month.

For us, we just completed a long process of loan modification ($500+ lower interest) while paying off most of our debt (long story). The rest left – irs and mortgage – is not important to us at this time to pay off… affordable monthly payments to them for now is just fine.

And living on half our income is never going to be a priority for us – we like enjoying nad appreciating life way too much.

Yep, it’s all about priorities. I may have to seriously reorganize ours soon as a regular expense is going to be at least doubling. At the very least, I want to focus on fattening our retirement starting next year. Even if it means not paying much (if anything) on our mortgage.

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